As physiotherapists and long time yoga teachers Bianca and I believe that incorrectly performed upward facing dog poses are the cause of many lower back and neck problems in yoga. We also feel that most people do not perform this quite difficult posture safely or effectively, and although when practiced properly this is a really fantastic exercise and can actually relieve back pain, only relatively few people have the necessary  understanding or abilities to do.

Yoga Anatomy Feature: Summary of main points on what to do with your body in UtthitaTrikonasana (with page references from ‘Applied Anatomy & Physiology of Yoga’ (AP)  by Simon